Saturday, April 29, 2017

On Wednesday the Bruins announced that Bruce Cassidy has been named the head coach of the Boston Bruins (the 28th head coach in Bruins history).

This past season, Cassidy led the Bruins to a 18-8-1 record, making the playoffs but getting beat in the first round. It will be interesting to see what Cassidy can do with this Bruins team with a full season.

Sunday, April 23, 2017

Senators beat Bruins and win the series 4-2
The Senators got a gift power-play in overtime and finally capitalized on a power-play with a goal, beating the Bruins 3-2 in overtime to eliminate the Bruins from the playoffs.

Quick game summary
In the first period, Bruins Drew Stafford scored his 2nd goal of the playoffs, a power-play goal, giving the Bruins a 1-0 lead.

In the second period, Senators Bobby Ryan scored a power-play goal, tying the game 1-1. Later, Senators Kyle Turris scored, giving the Senators a 2-1 lead.

In the third period, Bruins Patrice Bergeron scored his 2nd goal of the playoffs, tying the game 2-2.

In overtime, Senators Clarke MacArthur scored a power-play goal, winning the game 3-2 and ending the series.

Game notes
Bruins Tuukka Rask played in net and made 26 saves on 29 shots. Rask is now 2-4 with a 2.24 GAA and a .920 save percentage in the playoffs.

The Bruins led the game with a 56% faceoff percentage, in shots 30-29, hits 42-32 and blocked shots 16-8. The Bruins went 1-for-2 on the power-play while the Senators went 2-for-5.

Drew Stafford led the Bruins with 6 shots. Noel Acciari and Zdeno Chara led the Bruins with 7 hits each. Kevan Miller and Brad Marchand led the Bruins with 3 blocked shots.

Saturday, April 22, 2017

Bruins beat Senators in double overtime, still alive in series
After getting a goal taken away from them and later they should have been awarded a penalty shot (due to Senators Jean-Gabriel Pageau covering the puck with his glove in the goalie crease), the Bruins were able to stay alive with a double-overtime win with rookie Sean Kuraly providing the timely winner. Kuraly was in the lineup as coach Bruce Cassidy scratched forward Ryan Spooner, which turned out to be a great move. David Krejci was injured in the game with another uncalled knee-on-knee hit. After the game, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said that there were some derogatory comments made at Krejci while he was coming off the ice, which got the Bruins going (so thank you to whoever that moron was on the Senators). Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask also came up big and made quite a few game-saving saves as the Bruins defense didn't make it easy for him.

Quick game summary
In the first period, Senators Mark Stone scored, giving the Senators a 1-0 lead.

In the second period, 30 seconds into the period, Senators Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored, giving the Senators a 2-0 lead. Later, Bruins David Pastrnak scored his 2nd goal of the playoffs, cutting the Senators lead to 2-1. Later, Bruins Sean Kuraly scored his 1st goal of the playoffs, tying the game 2-2.

In the third period, no scoring happened.

In the first overtime period, no scoring happened.

In the second overtime period, Bruins Sean Kuraly scored his 2nd goal of the playoffs, winning the game for the Bruins 3-2.

NHL changes rules for the Bruins
So this was the non-penalty shot call that should have been, but I guess the NHL changed their rules for this game...

This is a player gathering the puck into his body in the crease. This should have been a penalty shot, by the book. pic.twitter.com/EaSXlWYTqv

Game notes
Bruins Tuukka Rask played in net and made 41 saves on 43 shots. Rask is now 2-3 with a 2.14 GAA and a .924 save percentage in the playoffs.

The Bruins led the game in hits 56-39. The Senators led the game with a 54% faceoff percentage, in shots 43-39 and blocked shots 29-19. The Bruins went 0-for-3 on the power-play while the Senators went 0-for-5.

Sean Kuraly and David Pastrnak led the Bruins with 6 shots each. Zdeno Chara led the Bruins with 9 hits. Kevan Miller led the Bruins with 5 blocked shots.

Thursday, April 20, 2017

Senators take 3-1 series lead
Last night, the Senators came away with a big 1-0 win over the Bruins to take a strong 3-1 series lead.

Quick game summary
In the first period, no scoring happened.

In the second period, no scoring happened.

In the third period, Senators Bobby Ryan scored, giving the Senators a 1-0 lead.

Game notes
Bruins Tuukka Rask played in net and made 26 saves on 27 shots. Rask is now 1-3 with a 2.44 GAA and a .913 save percentage in the playoffs.

The Bruins led the game in hits 37-30 and blocked shots 12-11. The Senators led the game with a 54% faceoff percentage and in shots 27-22. The Bruins went 0-for-1 on the power-play while the Senators went 0-for-3.

Brad Marchand led the Bruins with 6 shots. Zdeno Chara led the Bruins with 5 hits. Charlie McAvoy led the Bruins with 3 blocked shots.

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Senators blow big lead, end up winning in overtime
Last night, the Senators got out to a big 3-0 lead but the Bruins managed to tie it up 3-3 in the third period. The game went to overtime and the Senators got a gift power-play, when it should have been matching penalties, and were able to score on it to win the game 4-3.

Quick game summary
In the first period, Senators Mike Hoffman scored, giving the Senators a 1-0 lead. Less than a minute later, Senators Derick Brassard scored, giving the Senators a 2-0 lead.

In the second period, Senators Mike Hoffman scored a power-play goal, giving the Senators a 3-0 lead. Later, Bruins Noel Acciari scored his 1st goal of the playoffs, cutting the Senators lead to 3-1. Only 42 seconds later, Bruins David Backes scored his 1st goal of the playoffs, cutting the Senators lead to 3-2. Later, Bruins David Pastrnak scored his 1st goal of the playoffs, a power-play goal tying the game 3-3.

In the third period, no scoring happened.

In overtime, Senators Bobby Ryan scored a power-play goal, winning the game for the Senators 4-3.

Game notes
Bruins Tuukka Rask played in net and made 28 saves on 32 shots. Rask is now 1-2 with a 2.89 GAA and a .898 save percentage in the playoffs.

The Bruins led the game in hits 44-38. The Senators led the game with a 55% faceoff percentage and shots 32-20. Both teams had 16 blocked shots. The Bruins went 1-for-3 on the power-play while the Senators went 2-for-4.

Patrice Bergeron and Kevan Miller led the Bruins with 4 shots each. Kevan Miller led the Bruins with 8 hits.

Saturday, April 15, 2017

Bruins blow lead, series tied 1-1
Today the Bruins had a chance to go up 2-0 in the series against the Ottawa Senators and it was looking really good for the Bruins after two periods as they had a 3-1 lead. Although the third period came and the Bruins looked to sit back and try to hold onto the two goal lead, and when that happens usually the Bruins blow leads. That is exactly what happened as the Senators tied the game 3-3 in the third period and went on to win the game in overtime 4-3. The series is now tied 1-1. The Bruins also lost another defenseman in the game as Adam McQuaid left in the first period and did not return.

Quick game summary
In the first period, no scoring happened.

In the second period, Bruins Drew Stafford scored his 1st goal of the playoffs, giving the Bruins a 1-0 lead. Less than two minutes later, Senators Clarke MacArthur scored a power-play goal tying the game 1-1. Later, Bruins Tim Schaller scored his 1st goal of the playoffs, a short-handed goal, giving the Bruins a 2-1 lead. Later, Bruins Patrice Bergeron scored his 1st goal of the playoffs, a power-play goal, giving the Bruins a 3-1 lead.

In the third period, Senators Chris Wideman scored, cutting the Bruins lead to 3-2. Later, Senators Derick Brassard scored, tying the game 3-3.

In overtime, Senators Dion Phaneuf scored, winning the game for the Senators 4-3.

Game notes
Bruins Tuukka Rask played in net and made 25 saves on 29 shots. Rask is now 1-1-0-0 with a 2.46 GAA and a .911 save percentage in the playoffs.

The Bruins led the game in hits 53-51. The Senators led the game with a 54% faceoff percentage and blocked shots 21-17. Both teams had 29 shots. The Bruins went 1-for-3 on the power-play while the Senators went 1-for-4.

Drew Stafford led the Bruins with 4 shots. David Backes led the Bruins with 7 hits. Kevan Miller led the Bruins with 4 blocked shots.

Thursday, April 13, 2017

On Thursday, the Bruins announced that they have signed forward Joona Koppanen to a 3-year entry-level contract, beginning with the 2017-18 season. Koppanen was drafted by the Bruins in the 5th round, 135th overall, in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

"Koppanen completed his second season with the Ilves Under-20 Team of the Junior A SM-liiga (top Finnish junior league) in 2016-17, posting 23 goals and 31 assists for 54 points with 18 penalty minutes and a plus-28 rating in 38 games. The 6-foot-5, 194-pound forward also skated in six playoff games, tallying two goals and four assists for six points with a plus-three rating. Koppanen appeared in 40 games in his first season with the Ilves Under-20 Team in 2015-16, compiling nine goals and 17 assists for 26 points with 14 penalty minutes and a plus-12 rating." Source: nhl.com

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Bruins take game 1
After a pretty even first period, the Senators dominated the second period and got a 1-0 lead, but the Bruins would score twice in the third period and hold on for a 2-1 win, and taking a 1-0 series lead. Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask deserves a lot of credit for keeping the Bruins in the game, especially in the second period when the Bruins had zero shots and it was all Senators.

Quick game summary
In the first period, no scoring happened.

In the second period, Senators Bobby Ryan scored, giving the Senators a 1-0 lead. Bruins defenseman Colin Miller was injured from a knee-on-knee hit by Senators Mark Borowiecki and Miller did not return to the game. Somehow Borowiecki only got a 2-minute tripping minor for the knee-on-knee hit.

In the third period, Bruins Frank Vatrano scored his 1st goal of the playoffs, tying the game 1-1. Later, Bruins Brad Marchand scored his 1st goal of the playoffs, giving the Bruins a 2-1 lead.

Game notes
Bruins Tuukka Rask played in net and made 26 saves on 27 shots. Rask is now 1-0-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA and a .963 save percentage in the playoffs.

The Bruins and Senators had a 50% faceoff percentage. The Senators led the game in shots 27-25, hits 35-27 and blocked shots 21-19. The Bruins went 0-for-4 on the power-play while the Senators went 0-for-2.

Zdeno Chara led the Bruins with 5 shots. David Backes and Zdeno Chara led the Bruins with 5 hits each. Adam McQuaid led the Bruins with 3 blocked shots.

David Krejci was a late scratch for the game and forward Sean Kuraly played. Kuraly had 1 shot and 2 hits in 7:28 of ice time. Charlie McAvoy played in his first NHL game and didn't look out of place at all. McAvoy was a +1 with 1 hit and 2 blocked shots in 24:11 of ice time.

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

On Monday, the Bruins announced that they have signed Boston University defenseman Charlie McAvoy to a 3-year entry-level contract, beginning with the 2016-17 season. McAvoy is expected to join the Boston Bruins for Monday's practice at Warrior Ice Arena.

McAvoy played in 4 games with the Providence Bruins (AHL), recorded 2 assists and was a +3. McAvoy was selected by the Bruins in the 1st round (14th overall) of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

Saturday, April 8, 2017

Earlier today the Washington Capitals showed just how much better they are than the Bruins as they put a 3-1 offensive and physical beating on the Bruins. This was the last game for the Bruins this season and their playoff opponent hasn't yet been set.

In the game, Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo left with an upper-body injury from an Alex Ovechkin hit that should have been a penalty but we all know stars get treated differently in the NHL (as you can also chop another player's finger off and not get penalized).

Quick game summary
In the first period, Capitals Marcus Johansson scored, giving the Capitals a 1-0 lead.

In the second period, Bruins Colin Miller scored his 6th goal of the season, tying the game 1-1. Less than a minute later, Capitals Kevin Shattenkirk scored, giving the Capitals a 2-1 lead. Later, Capitals Justin Williams scored, giving the Capitals a 3-1 lead.

In the third period, no scoring happened.

Game notes
Bruins Anton Khudobin started the game, played the first two periods, and did not return for the third period as he wasn't feeling good. Khudobin made 21 saves on 24 shots and got the loss in this one. Khudobin finished the season with a 7-6-0-1 record with a 2.64 GAA and a .904 save percentage. Bruins Tuukka Rask played in net in the third period, stopping all 8 shots he faced. Rask finished the season with a 37-20-0-5 with a 2.23 GAA and a .915 save percentage.

The Bruins led the game with a 58% faceoff percentage and hits 26-19. The Capitals led the game in shots 32-22 and blocked shots 15-13. The Bruins went 0-for-2 on the power-play while the Capitals went 0-for-4.

Patrice Bergeron and David Backes led the Bruins with 4 shots each. Riley Nash led the Bruins with 5 hits. Adam McQuaid led the Bruins with 3 blocked shots.

Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson made his NHL debut in this game, and was pretty quiet in 8:25 of ice time.

Bruins regular season is over
The Bruins finished the season 44-31-7 with 95 points and are in 4th place in the Atlantic division. The Bruins are now 6-3-1 in their last 10 games and their home record is 23-17-1 this season.

Thursday, April 6, 2017

Tonight the Bruins went to a shootout with the Ottawa Senators and forward Kyle Turris, who is always scoring against the Bruins, scored the only goal to win it 2-1 for the Senators.

Quick game summary
In the first period, Bruins Drew Stafford scored his 8th goal of the season, a power-play goal, giving the Bruins a 1-0 lead.

In the second period, Senators Alex Burrows scored, tying the game 1-1.

In the third period, no scoring happened.

In overtime, no scoring happened.

In the shootout, Senators Kyle Turris scored in the first round which turned out to be the game-winning goal.

Game notes
Bruins Tuukka Rask played in net and made 25 saves on 26 shots. Rask is now 37-20-0-5 with a 2.25 GAA and a .914 save percentage this season.

The Bruins led the game with a 62% faceoff percentage, in shots 29-26 and blocked shots 13-8. The Senators led the game in hits 28-22. The Bruins went 1-for-1 on the power-play while the Senators went 0-for-2.

Frank Vatrano led the Bruins with 5 shots. Noel Acciari led the Bruins with 5 hits. Brandon Carlo and Adam McQuaid led the Bruins with 3 blocked shots each.

Onto the next one
The Bruins are now 44-30-7 with 95 points this season and are in 3rd place in the Atlantic division. The Bruins are now 6-3-1 in their last 10 games and their home record is now 23-16-1 this season. The next game for the Bruins is on Saturday, when they host the Washington Capitals, at 3pm ET.

Tonight, Bruins forward David Pastrnak was named the 2016-17 NESN 7th Player Award winner before the game vs Ottawa. The award is voted on by fans and it recognizes a player who performed beyond expectations. Before tonight's game, Pastrnak had 34 goals and 36 assists for a total of 70 points in 73 games this season.

Pastrnak wins Bruins fan award - 01:52 - David Pastrnak joins Bruins fans on the ice to receive the Seventh Player Award, for exceeding expectations in the 2016-17 season.

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

The Bruins have clinched a playoff spot as they beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-0 tonight with Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask leading the way. This was the Bruins 6th straight win.

Quick game summary
In the first period, no scoring happened. Late in the period, Bruins Brad Marchand was given a 5-minute major and game misconduct for spearing a Lightning player in the groin. A dumb play by Marchand and now he risks missing playoff games.

In the second period, Bruins Drew Stafford scored his 7th goal of the season, giving the Bruins a 1-0 lead. Later, Bruins David Pastrnak scored his 33rd goal of the season, giving the Bruins a 2-0 lead.

In the third period, Bruins captain Zdeno Chara scored his 9th goal of the season, a power-play goal, giving the Bruins a 3-0 lead. Later, Bruins David Pastrnak scored his 34th goal of the season, an empty-net goal, giving the Bruins a 4-0 lead.

Game notes
Bruins Tuukka Rask played in net and stopped all 28 shots he faced, earning his 8th shutout of the season. Rask is now 37-20-0-4 with a 2.27 GAA and a .914 save percentage this season.

The Bruins led the game with a 69% faceoff percentage and in shots 38-28. The Lightning led the game in hits 33-21. Both teams had 13 blocked shots. The Bruins went 1-for-1 on the power-play while the Lightning went 0-for-1.

Patrice Bergeron led the Bruins with 6 shots. David Backes led the Bruins with 5 hits. Brandon Carlo led the Bruins with 3 blocked shots.

Onto the next one
The Bruins are now 44-30-6 with 94 points this season and are in 3rd place in the Atlantic division. The Bruins are now 6-4-0 in their last 10 games and their home record is now 23-16-0 this season. The next game for the Bruins is on Thursday, when they host the Ottawa Senators, at 7pm ET.

Monday, April 3, 2017

On Sunday, Bruins backup goalie Anton Khudobin led the Bruins to a 3-2 win over the Blackhawks, earning two big points, giving the Bruins their 5th straight win.

Quick game summary
In the first period, Bruins Ryan Spooner scored his 12th goal of the season, giving the Bruins a 1-0 lead. Later, Bruins Patrice Bergeron scored his 21st goal of the season, a power-play goal, giving the Bruins a 2-0 lead.

In the second period, Blackhawks Artemi Panarin scored, cutting the Bruins lead to 2-1.

In the third period, Bruins Kevan Miller scored his 3rd goal of the season, giving the Bruins a 3-1 lead. Less than a minute later, Blackhawks Jordin Tootoo scored, cutting the Bruins lead to 3-2.

Game notes
Bruins Anton Khudobin played in net and made 41 saves on 43 shots. Khudobin is now 7-5-0-1 with a 2.56 GAA and a .906 save percentage this season.

The Bruins led the game with a 57% faceoff percentage, hits 29-21 and blocked shots 19-14. The Blackhawks led the game in shots 43-29. The Bruins went 1-for-1 on the power-play while the Blackhawks went 0-for-3.

Patrice Bergeron led the Bruins with 5 shots. David Backes led the Bruins with 5 hits. Zdeno Chara led the Bruins with 4 blocked shots.

Onto the next one
The Bruins are now 43-30-6 with 92 points this season and are in 2nd place in the Atlantic division. The Bruins are now 6-4-0 in their last 10 games and their road record is now 21-14-6 this season. The next game for the Bruins is on Tuesday, when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning, at 7pm ET.

Saturday, April 1, 2017

Today the Bruins took on the newly playoff-eliminated Florida Panthers and managed to get a huge two points as Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask led the way with some big saves.

At the end of the game, the NESN broadcast caught Bruins Patrice Bergeron and Panthers Shawn Thornton hug and exchange some friendly words, as this was Thornton's last game at the Garden as he's planning on retiring after this season. Thornton was also named the 3rd star of the game which I thought was a great classy move by those who vote for the stars of the game.

Quick game summary
In the first period, Bruins Noel Acciari scored his 2nd goal of the season, giving the Bruins a 1-0 lead.

In the second period, Panthers (and Bruins killer) Thomas Vanek scored, tying the game 1-1. Later, Bruins Patrice Bergeron scored his 19th goal of the season, giving the Bruins a 2-1 lead. Less than two minutes later, Panthers Jaromir Jagr scored a power-play goal, tying the game 2-2. Later, Bruins David Krejci scored his 23rd goal of the season, giving the Bruins a 3-2 lead.

In the third period, Bruins Brad Marchand scored his 39th goal of the season, a power-play goal, giving the Bruins a 4-2 lead. Later, Bruins Patrice Bergeron scored his 20th goal of the season, giving the Bruins a 5-2 lead.

Game notesTuukka Rask played in net and made 24 saves on 26 shots. Rask is now 36-20-0-4 with a 2.31 GAA and a .912 save percentage this season.

The Bruins led the game in shots 29-26 and blocked shots 12-6. The Panthers led the game with a 57% faceoff percentage and in hits 21-16. Both teams went 1-for-4 on the power-play.

Brad Marchand led the Bruins with 6 shots. Zdeno Chara led the Bruins with 3 hits. Zdeno Chara and Adam McQuaid led the Bruins with 4 blocked shots each.

After the game
Panthers Shawn Thornton talked with the media after the game and was asked about this being his final game in Boston and being named the 3rd star of the game, Thornton said, "Definitely a little emotional." "It didn't really sink in until [Patrice Bergeron] came over and said he loved me. For the third star, I appreciate that, you know getting that and people sticking around and applauding me when I came out. That's probably the closest I have been to getting choked up in a bit so, I mean it's emotional but I had a good run, no regrets, no complaints, I'm very happy with my career."

Thornton also had a message for his fans, "Thank you. Honestly thank you. I mean we obviously had a lot of success while I was here but again thank you." "The way that they have treated myself and everyone that was around back then, there's a reason that guys keep coming back here and it's because of them."

Onto the next one
The Bruins are now 42-30-6 with 90 points this season and are in 3rd place in the Atlantic division. The Bruins are now 6-4-0 in their last 10 games and their home record is now 22-16-0 this season. The next game for the Bruins is tomorrow (Sunday), when they visit the Chicago Blackhawks, at 12:30pm ET.